U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on the 13th (local time), "If any one of the Iranian vessels approaches our blockade line (the waters under blockade), we will immediately eliminate it at sea with the lethal weapons we use to seize drug-smuggling ships." He also called it a "swift and brutal method."
Trump posted the message as the United States began its Hormuz Strait blockade at 11 p.m. on the 13th Korea time. He said, "One hundred fifty-eight Iranian naval vessels have been completely destroyed and sent to the bottom," adding, "What we did not strike were a small number of so-called 'fast attack craft,' because we did not regard them as a major threat."
He added, "If any one of these boats comes near our blockade, they will be eliminated immediately." He said the method of elimination would use the same system that has successively sunk vessels suspected of drug smuggling.
Since late last year, the United States has carried out strikes on vessels suspected of transporting drugs from Latin American countries to the United States. Trump also said, "Ninety-eight point two percent of the drugs entering the United States by sea have been blocked."